The Infiltrator
|budget = $28-47.5 million|gross = $18.7 million}}The Infiltrator is a 2016 American biographical crime drama film directed by Brad Furman and written by Ellen Brown Furman. The film is based on the eponymous autobiography by Robert Mazur, a U.S. Customs special agent, who in the 1980s helped bust Pablo Escobar's money-laundering organization by going undercover as a corrupt businessman. The film stars Bryan Cranston, Diane Kruger, Benjamin Bratt, John Leguizamo, Said Taghmaoui, Joseph Gilgun and Amy Ryan. Filming began on February 23, 2015 in London. The film premiered at the Tampa Theatre on July 6, 2016 and was released in the United States on July 13, 2016. Plot During the 1980s, U.S. Customs Service special agent Robert Mazur uses his undercover alias "Bob Musella" to become a pivotal player for drug lords laundering their dirty cash. Later, he infiltrates the world's largest cartel, and helps expose the money-laundering organization of drug lord Pablo Escobar and take down the Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI), which had secretly taken illegal ownership of First American Bank shares in Washington, D.C. Cast *Bryan Cranston as Robert Mazur/Bob Musella *Diane Kruger as Kathy Ertz *John Leguizamo as Emir Abreu *Benjamin Bratt as Roberto Alcaino *Amy Ryan as Bonni Tischler *Jason Isaacs as Mark Jackowski *Joe Gilgun as Dominic *Daniel Mays as Frankie *Yul Vazquez as Javier Ospina *Rubén Ochandiano as Gonzalo Mora Jr. *Juliet Aubrey as Evelyn Mazur *Olympia Dukakis as Aunt Vicky *Saïd Taghmaoui as Amjad Awan *Tom Vaughan-Lawlor as Steve Cook *Elena Anaya as Gloria Alcaino *Carsten Hayes as Rudy Armbrecht *Juan Cely as the Informant *Andy Beckwith as Joe *Michael Paré as Barry Seal *Mark Holden as Eric Wellman Production The project was first announced by The Hollywood Reporter on October 8, 2014, with Brad Furman as director and Bryan Cranston as Robert Mazur; Miriam Segal would produce the film for her Good Films banner along with George Films, while Relativity International was announced to sell the film to foreign distributors at the American Film Market. On February 13, 2015, Diane Kruger was set to star for the unspecified female lead role. Benjamin Bratt was set to star in the film as Roberto Alcaino, the agent's contact who dealt directly with cartel board members, including Escobar. On March 10, 2015, additional cast members were chosen, including John Leguizamo, Amy Ryan, Olympia Dukakis, Elena Anaya, and Juliet Aubrey. Broad Green Pictures acquired the US rights to the film on May 21, 2015. Cranston and Leguizamo previously worked together in The Lincoln Lawyer, which Furman directed. 'Filming' Filming was previously set to begin in March 2015 in Tampa, Florida, but then moved to London and Paris. According to SSN Insider, filming began on February 23, 2015. On March 11, 2015, the studio confirmed that filming was underway in London and released a first-look image from the film. The production moved to Florida at the end of April; filming began in Tampa on April 22, 2015, on location at Port Tampa Bay. On April 28, 2015, they filmed in Parkland Estates, near the former home of Santo Trafficante, an infamous Tampa mob boss. Reception 'Box office' In the United States and Canada, The Infiltrator opened on Wednesday, July 13, 2016 and was projected to gross $5–8 million from 1,600 theaters in its opening five days.The film grossed $773,761 on its first day and $5.3 million in its opening weekend (a five-day total of $6.7 million), finishing eighth at the box office. 'Critical response' On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 70% based on 171 reviews and an average rating of 6.4/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "The Infiltrator s compelling fact-based story and tremendously talented cast are often just enough to balance out its derivative narrative and occasionally clunky execution." On Metacritic, the film has a score of 66 out of 100, based on 38 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A–" on an A+ to F scale. External links *Official website *[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1355631/ The Infiltrator] on IMDb *[https://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=theinfiltrator.htm The Infiltrator] at Box Office Mojo *[https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_infiltrator The Infiltrator] at Rotten Tomatoes Category:2016 films Category:2010s biographical films Category:2010s crime drama films Category:2010s crime thriller films Category:American films Category:American biographical films Category:American crime drama films Category:American crime thriller films Category:English-language films Category:Films directed by Brad Furman Category:Broad Green Pictures films Category:Films shot in London Category:Films shot in Florida Category:Films set in the 1980s Category:Crime films based on actual events Category:Drama films based on actual events Category:Films about organized crime in the United States Category:Biographical films about drug traffickers Category:Biographical films about Pablo Escobar Category:Films based on biographies Category:Biographical films about criminals Category:Biographical films about mobsters Category:Films about Colombian drug cartels Category:Rated R